Note from Apparel Search:
The people of this world should unite and destroy all "bullets".
Write to your government... Outlaw bullets...

A
bullet-resistant
vest
(body
armour
or body
armor
(U.S.))
- is an
article
of
protective
clothing
that works
as a form
of
armour
to minimize
injury from
projectiles
fired from
handguns,
shotguns
and rifles
. They are
commonly
worn by
police forces,
the military,
and private
security
and civilians
where legal.
However,
they have
sometimes
been used
by criminals.

The term "bulletproof"
is a misnomer
since these
vests (depending
on their
armor level,
see below)
may provide
little or
no protection
against
rifle ammunition
or even
against
handgun
ammunition
fired from
a pistol-caliber
carbine.
The exception
is the common
.22 LR ammunition,
which can
usually
be stopped
by these
vests even
when fired
from a rifle.
These vests
are usually
protective
against
handgun
ammunition
fired from
handguns
(once again,
depending
on their
armor level.)

However,
vests may
be augmented
with metal
(steel or
titanium),
ceramic
or
polyethylene
plates that
provide
extra protection
to vital
areas. These "trauma
plates"
have proven
effective
against
all handgun
bullets
and some
rifles,
if the bullet
actually
hits the
plate. These
types of
vests have
become standard
in military
use, as
advances
in ballistic
technology
have rendered
Kevlar-only
vests ineffective
- the CRISAT
NATO standard
for body
armour specifies
the use
of titanium
backing.
Some vests
are also
designed
to protect
against
knife attacks
as well.
This is
done by
coating
the outer
surface
of the vest
with tiny
crystals
of a sandpaper-like
material
or placing
a very thin
plate of
resin hardened
glass-fibre
sheet between
the kevlar
layers.
This is
important
for the
safety of
law enforcement
and prison
guard personnel.

A vest
does not
protect
the wearer
by deflecting
a bullet.
Instead,
the individual
layers of
material
catch the
bullet and
spread its
force over
a larger
portion
of the body,
deforming
the round
and hopefully
bringing
it to a
stop before
it can penetrate
into the
body. While
a vest can
prevent
a bullet
from penetrating,
the wearer
can still
be affected
by the momentum
of the bullet
("blunt
trauma"),
with results
ranging
from bruises
to serious
internal
injuries.

History

Firearms made their entry at the end of the medieval era. When many knights and nobles purchased their new breast plates, they wanted
proof
that the armor would protect them from early bullets. Armor makers would shoot the breast plates, and the resulting dent in the new armor was provided as evidence that it was
bullet-proofed
.

The oldest bullet-resistant fabric vests were made from silk. At the forefront, the Rev. Casimir Zeglen of Chicago, IL developed a bullet proof vest made of silk fabric at the turn of the last century. These expensive vests (often costing US $800 each in 1914. Equal to $15,000 in 2005) were capable of stopping relatively slow rounds from black powder handguns. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was wearing such a silk vest, but nonetheless died when shot in the neck above the vest with a .32 ACP bullet fired by Gavrilo Princip using a handgun, starting a chain of events that quickly escalated into World War I.

During World War I, the United States developed several types of body armor, including the chrome nickel steel Brewster Body Shield, which consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece and could withstand Lewis Gun bullets at 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s), but it was clumsy and heavy at 40 pounds (18 kg). Another type of body armor was designed in February 1918 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This breastplate was based on certain armor of the 15th century, weighed 27 pounds (12 kg), and was considered to be very noisy and restricting of the movements of the wearer. A scaled waistcoat of overlapping steel scales fixed to a leather lining was also designed; this armor weighed 11 pounds (5 kg), fit close to the body, and was considered comfortable.

During the late 1920s through the early 1930s, criminals in the United States began wearing less-expensive vests made from cotton padding and cloth. These early vests were capable of generally protecting against handgun bullets such as .22, .25, S&W .32 Long, S&W .32, .380 ACP, and .45 ACP traveling at slower speeds of up to approximately 1000 ft/s (300 m/s). This led to the development of the .357 Magnum cartridge for the use of law enforcement agents such as the FBI to overcome these vests.

In the early stages of World War II, some work was performed in the United States on designing body armor for infantrymen, but most models were too heavy, incompatible with existing equipment, and restricted the mobility of the wearer. For these reasons, development of infantry body armor was discontinued and attention was diverted to the development of "flak jackets" for aircraft crews. These flak jackets were made of nylonfabric and only capable of stopping flak and shrapnel, not the .38 Special or .357 Magnum bullets. The Japanese produced a few types of infantry body armor during World War II, but they did not see much use. Near the middle of 1944, development of infantry body armor in the United States restarted. Several vests were produced for the US military, including but not limited to the T34, the T39, the T62E1, and the M12.

There were several models of body armor in the Red Army, called SN-38, SN-39, SN-40, SN-40A, and SN-42. The number denotes the design year.

All were combat tested but only the SN-42 (in Russian language "Stalynoi Sagrudnik" SN=steel vest or CH-42) was put in production. It consisted of two pressed steel plates that protected the front torso and groin. The plates were 2mm and weighed 3.5kg. This armor was supplied to SHISBr(Assault Engineers) and Tankodesantnikam(Infantry that on rode tanks) of some Tank Brigades. Real combat experience showed that the MP-40 9mm bullet failed to penetrate at around 100-125m. It was very useful in dense, intense urban battles(Stalingrad) where the Germans used the MP-40 predominatly, but, because of its weight, was not practical for soldiers charging across an open field.

During the Korean War several new vests
were produced for the United States military,
including the M-1951 (Chriss Body, 2002), "a
vast improvement on weight, but the armor
failed to stop bullets and fragments very
successfully" (Military, 2004). For
these reasons, Kevlar came into the picture.
But Kevlar too had its failures because
if "large fragments or high velocity
bullets hit the vest, the energy could cause
life-threatening, blunt trauma injuries"
(Military, 2004). So the
Ranger Body Armor was developed, which
again was an improvement over the previous
armor but still had its flaws: "it
was heavier than the anti-fragment armor
already worn by the infantry and offered
less protection" (Military, 2004).

The newest armor issued by the United
States military is known as Interceptor
Multi-Threat Body Armor System. While it
has its flaws, it protects the wearer from
most low- to mid-velocity threats. Modern
bullet-resistant vests made from woven Kevlar
were tested by United States police forces
in 1975. Since then several new fibers and
construction methods for bulletproof fabric
have been developed besides woven Kevlar,
such as DSM's Dyneema, Akzo's Twaron, Toyobo's
Zylon (now controversial, as new studies
report that it degrades rapidly, leaving
wearers with significantly less protection
than expected), or Honeywell's
GoldFlex. These newer materials are
advertised as being lighter, thinner and
more resistant than Kevlar, although they
are much more expensive.

Performance standards

Both the Underwriters Laboratories (UL
Standard 752) and the United States National
Institute of Justice (NIJ
Standard 0101.04) have specific performance
standards for bullet resistant vests.
The US NIJ rates vests on the following
scale against penetration and also blunt
trauma protection (deformation) (Table from
NIJ Standard 0101.04):

This armor protects against
9 mm Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose
(FMJ RN) bullets, with nominal masses
of 8.0 g (124 gr) impacting at a
maximum velocity of 358 m/s (1175
ft/s) or less, and 357 Magnum Jacketed
Soft Point (JSP) bullets, with nominal
masses of 10.2 g (158 gr) impacting
at a maximum velocity of 427 m/s
(1400 ft/s) or less. It also provides
protection against the threats mentioned
in [Types I and IIA].

Type IIIA
(High Velocity 9 mm; .44 Magnum)

This armor protects against
9 mm Full Metal Jacketed Round Nose
(FMJ RN) bullets, with nominal masses
of 8.0 g (124 gr) impacting at a
maximum velocity of 427 m/s (1400
ft/s) or less, and .44 Magnum Semi
Jacketed Hollow Point (SJHP) bullets,
with nominal masses of 15.6 g (240
gr) impacting at a maximum velocity
of 427 m/s (1400 ft/s) or less.
It also provides protection against
most handgun threats, as well as
the threats mentioned in [Types
I, IIA, and II].

Type III
(Rifles)

This armor protects against
7.62 mm Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ)
bullets (U.S. Military designation
M80), with nominal masses of 9.6
g (148 gr) impacting at a maximum
velocity of 838 m/s (2750 ft/s)
or less [provided the projectile
hits the hard trauma plate insert].
It also provides protection against
the threats mentioned in [Types
I, IIA, II, and IIIA].

Type IV
(Armor Piercing Rifle)

This armor protects against
.30 caliber armor piercing (AP)
bullets (U.S. Military designation
M2 AP), with nominal masses of 10.8
g (166 gr) impacting at a maximum
velocity of 869 m/s (2850 ft/s)
or less [provided the projectile
hits the hard trauma plate]. It
also provides at least single hit
protection against the threats mentioned
in [Types I, IIA, II, IIIA, and
III].

Bomb disposal officers often wear heavy
armor designed to protect against most effects
of a moderate sized explosion, such as bombs
encountered in terror threats. Full head
helmet, covering the face and some degree
of protection for limbs is mandatory in
addition to very strong armour for the torso.
An insert to protect the spine is usually
applied to the back, in case an explosion
blasts the wearer. Visibility and mobility
of the wearer may be severely limited.

In terms of Kevlar, a IIA vest has around
sixteen layers and a IIIA vest around thirty
layers.

German standards allow for bullet impact
depression of 20 millimeters on the mannequin's
wax body under the vest; US standards allow
for more than twice that (44 millimeters),
which can be potentially lethal.

In addition, there are vests available
for
police dogs which offer a measure of
protection for the animals.

An Aramid vest's material must not get
wet, because it will lose its protective
capability until dry again, or in some cases
be permanently degraded (water acts as a
lubricant, helping the bullet slip through
between the fibres; ions may also weaken
the structure of the fiber, see
Kevlar
for details). Most bulletproof vests have
panels in sealed enclosures, but waterproofing
is usually not perfect.
Dyneema based vests do not have the
same difficulties with water.

The Future of Bulletproof vests

In recent years advances in material
science have opened the door to the old
idea of an actual "Bulletproof vest"
that will be able to stop handgun and rifle
bullets without the assistance of heavy
and cumbersome extra metal or ceramic plating.
Researchers in the U.S.[1]
and separately in the
Hebrew University[2]
are on their way to create artificial
spider silk that will be super strong,
yet light and flexible. Other research has
been done to harness nano-technology to
help create super strong materials that
could be used in future bulletproof vest.
In 2005 an Israeli company claimed
[3] it was able to develop a nano material
based on Tungsten Disulfide that was able
to withstand shocks generated by a steel
projectile traveling at velocities of up
to 1.5 km/second. The material was also
reportedly subjected to a shock pressures
generated by the impacts of up to 250 tons
per square centimeter. During the test the
material proved to be so strong that after
the impact the samples remained essentially
identical compared to the original material.
Spider silk bulletproof vests and nano based
armor are, as to late 2005, still in the
future but they give the hope that some
day we might actually use the modern equivalent
of the medieval armor.

Legality

United States Law 18USC931 provides that:
(a) In General. Except as provided in subsection
(b), it shall be unlawful for a person to
purchase, own, or possess body armor, if
that person has been convicted of a felony
that is (1) a crime of violence (as defined
in section 16); or (2) an offense under
State law that would constitute a crime
of violence under paragraph (1) if it occurred
within the special maritime and territorial
jurisdiction of the United States.

Many states have criminalized the use
of body armor by convicted felons. In February
of 1999, the late Russell Jones a.k.a. "Ol'
Dirty Bastard" was arrested in
California for possession of body armor
by a convicted felon.

Curiously enough, bulletproof vests remain
legal in many countries where firearms are
heavily restricted, such as the UK. One
exception is Australia, where body armor
has been prohibited for some time, despite
the low level of violent crime in that country
and no instances of criminal use. This ban
may have its origins in the late 19th century,
when the iconic Australian outlaw and folk
hero
Ned Kelly used home-made armor with
mixed results. While the steel armor worn
by Kelly defeated the soft lead, low velocity
bullets fired by police
Martini-Henry rifles, it greatly restricted
his movement.

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